Shawn Sims

Shawn grew up hunting deer and guiding deer hunters in Bullock County, AL. Until, one day, a buddy convinced him to go duck hunting and he immediately fell in love with it. It became clear pretty quickly that a retriever would be a valuable asset for retrieving the ducks they were shooting in those Alabama swamps and stick ponds. So, his wife, Tanya, bought him a little, yellow, female lab puppy (Casey) and his training journey began. Fortunately, he worked a seasonal job that afforded him plenty of off-time from July through February so he was able to spend hours and hours working with that young dog and researching training techniques. He made a lot of mistakes along the way, but wound up with a nice retriever that would pick up every duck that he shot. 

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A couple years later, he learned about hunt tests and decided to go visit one to see what all of the fuss was about. He drove to Zebulan, GA and watched the Atlanta Retriever Club's Junior test. Shawn was convinced that Casey could pass Junior. He then moved over to watch Senior and Master, and realized that he and Casey still had a lot to learn.

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His competitive nature kicked in and he went home and became obsessed with finding a way to successfully compete in Hunt Tests. He began researching advanced training techniques, talking with other trainers, and studying titles and pedigrees. Casey learned a lot and was a great wood duck hunting companion, but in order to compete, Shawn decided to get a new puppy that he could start off on the right foot. Enter Drake. As Shawn was training and competing with Drake, people who had seen Casey in action and were now seeing Drake's success, began asking him to train their dogs and were referring others to him. What started as a dog here and there, grew to the point that he moved, built a kennel, and bought a dog trailer, training and competing during all of his available off-time.  

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By 2013, Shawn had so many dogs in training and wait-listed, that he decided to begin training full-time. Over the years, Shawn has trained dogs to be obedient and have manners; retrievers to fetch ducks, geese, and/or pheasants for their owners or guides during hunting season; and retrievers to successfully compete in all levels of AKC and UKC Hunt Tests, Super Retriever Series events, and AKC Retriever Field Trials. From 2021 to 2023, he earned AKC Retriever Field Trial placements with 15 different golden retrievers.

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Shawn says  "I can honestly say that I love what I do for a living. Training techniques and tools are constantly evolving, and I continue to seek ways to grow as a trainer so I can do my part to help each dog reach its maximum potential." 

Shawn is a member of the Professional Retriever Trainers Association (PRTA). His current focus is training for and competing in Derby and Qualifying stakes at AKC retriever field trials.